Nations Cup roars on

Bafana Bafana continued to struggle to get back on the path that took them to greatness exactly 10 years ago when they became only the second Southern African side to win the Nations Cup finals.

Zambia’s resurgence continued as Chipolopolo powered to an impressive 2-0 win in Chad that torched riots in the capital N’djamena shortly after the match.

Predictably the small boys again found the going tough with Lesotho, Swaziland and the Seychelles all losing on the opening weekend.

Malawi’s Flames ‘ in turmoil after losing in the Cosafa Castle Cup amid calls for German coach Burkhard Ziese to be fired ‘ did well despite eventually losing 0-2 to giants Morocco in Casablanca.

But the spotlight was clearly on the Zebras of Botswana.

They went into the opening round of matches with a growing pedigree after qualifying for their first Cosafa Castle Cup semi-final where they narrowly lost to Zambia in Lusaka.

Even the experts appeared to agree that Botswana were on the verge of making a huge impact.

Peter Goldstein ‘ the respected columnist for Planet Football ‘ seemed to believe in the Zebras, too.

“Botswana, a long-time doormat, took a step up in class during the 2006 World Cup African Nations Cup qualifiers, making the group stage for the first time, picking up wins over Malawi and Kenya, and scaring big names like Tunisia and Morocco at home,” wrote Goldstein in his special preview.

“The big question is whether the Zebras can keep it going now that coach Veselin Jelusic has moved to the youth teams.”

And this is what Goldstein thought about Mauritania.

“When Mauritania surprised Zimbabwe 2-1 in the second leg of their World Cup qualifier on November 14, 2003, it was their first win in eight years.

“They haven’t played since. Frenchman No’l Tosi, the architect of the famous victory, now coaches Congo-Brazzaville.

“The top club sides had to withdraw from the 2006 continental championships due to lack of funds. Don’t expect much.”

Well, the scoreline from Nouakchott last weekend was a shocker.

Mauritius 4, Botswana 0.

That was quite a beating for the Zebras and whether they can rise from that morale-shattering defeat remains to be seen.

Neighbours Namibia fared better and have reason to believe that they could turn their campaign around.

They even took the lead ‘ at 2-1 ‘ midway in the second half of their tough away assignment against the Democratic Republic of Congo in Kinshasa.

But the experienced Congolese came back and struck twice to win the match 3-2.

On a good weekend for some of the minnows, little Mauritius emerged as the pick of the crop by holding former African champions Tunisia to a goalless draw in Curepipe.

It was the Indian Ocean islanders’ best result in their campaign in international football.

Goalkeeper Orwin Castel was the hero at the New George V Stadium in Curepipe as he played a blinder in helping his side restrict Tunisia.

He even saved a first-half penalty from Hamed Namouchi.

It could even have been better for Mauritius as they were presented with a golden chance to win the match in the 67th minute but Giovanni Jeannot’s header just missed the target.

Among those who praised the home nation for its gusty show was Tunisian coach Roger Lemerre.

“Mauritius showed that football is played with intelligence. I am happy that we grabbed a point,” he told reporters.

Sarjoo Gowreesungkur ‘ the Mauritius coach in charge of his first match ‘ said the result was a massive boost for football on the island.

“This draw is a victory for us as it is not against any team but Tunisia.

“We had only three weeks to prepare for the game as the league had not yet started and we had to depend on our foreign-based players.

“I am confident that this result will give our football a needed boost.”

Of course, it certainly will.

For Mauritius can now fancy their chances of even going top of the group during the next round of matches.

Tunisia will host Sudan in their next qualifier while Mauritius will travel to neighbours Seychelles fancying their chances of victory which could take them top of the table.

The Seychelles were beaten 0-3 by Sudan.

Another Indian Ocean island ‘ Madagascar ‘ also lost on the opening weekend of the Nations Cup qualifiers after going down 0-4 in Gabon.

Striker Henri Antchouet opened the scoring five minutes before the interval and Daniel Cousin added his second as he continued his rehabilitation in the national team after almost six years on the sidelines.

Cousin stayed away from the national team for almost half-a-dozen years because he was unhappy with the chaos in the national football association.